his course broadens the critical reading skills across a range of materials, from literature and social studies to science and mathematics. The ability to read critically across a broad range of subjects is important to effectively tackle the Critical Reading portion of the SAT I, and is fundamental to reading requirements at the college level.

Further this course makes critical reading virtually automatic. Many students approach reading without a sense of purpose. Purposeless reading is passive, wasteful, and generally, boring. Reading across multiple disciplines requires students to state a purpose every time they read. Finding purpose requires readers to ask themselves questions about what it is they’re reading. This creates focus, determines the key information readers are seeking, and creates an active, critical approach. This is all essential in tackling challenging material and effectively distilling its essence.

This course boils down the reading process to the following three essential steps:

1. Before readers begin the material they must

a. Determine the purpose
b. Preview the material
c. Approach the material with a reading strategy

2. While reading

a. Read with their purpose in mind
b. Connect with the material; try to get in the author’s head

3. After reading

a. Did the information gleaned match the initial purpose?
b. Recall key points and paraphrase them
c. Summarize how the material read matches the reader’s purpose.

Additionally, this course encourages the student to carefully examine literature by exploring the composition of the book, how the author develops events, themes and characters and style (the special intonations, vocabulary and voice unique to the author).